Building block



`Iuly 14, 1936. c. l.. SANFORD BUILDING BLOCK Filed April '7, 1932 Patented July l, f

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BUILDING BLOCK charles L. Sanford, Meadville, ra. Application April 7, 1932, Serial No. 603,842

7 Claims. (CL 72-44) l Another object is to provide a block which will This invention relates'to concrete blocks for building purposes and more especially to concrete blocks designed for use in the formation of `outside walls which arev exposed to frost and weather. There are several requisites which should be present in a wall formed of blocks. One of these is, of course, that the wall shall have full necessary strength. Another is that the wall shall be double, not merely provided with vertical ues, but formed with an air space which is practically continuous and extends across the joints between the blocks so that therev will be no conductive mass extending through the wall to the rear thereof and thus so that the wall shall be frost-proof and shall neither conduct heat from the interior of the house to the exterior or vIt is further desirable that while the body ofA the element or block shall be of relatively strong material, the face of the block shall be of' material having an ornamental value and that there shall be a minimum of space between the confronting edges of the outer ornamental faces of the block. l

It is further desirable to so form "the inner portion of the block that furring strips, laths and framing may be readily nailed to the inner surface of the block.

With these requisites in View, I have devised l a .building block or elementwhich comprises two spaced, parallel and non-contacting members connected by metallic ties, these ties being so formed as to secure not only great resistance to longitudinal stress but so formed as to secure-4 greaty strength against bending stresses.

A further object is to provide a building block which is so formed' that it provides a non-frost conducting uniting means and an air space entirely separating the outside and inside walls or members of the block. A further object is to provide a concrete block which will be much stronger than the ordinary concrete block and will be suitable for Walls requiring increased strength. l

be fire-proof, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to build into a wall, thoroughly adapted to the purposes for vwhich it is intended, very durable and capable of having awide variety of designs for the outside face of the block, and another object is to provide a block which is so formed that a relatively large space is left within the wall within which electric wiring conduits, water pipes,'heating pipes and the like may be disposed.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:-

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a building block, constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view through a wall constructed of these building' blocks; 1

Figure 3 is a fragmentary face view of the building block;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation of one of the end tie strips between the front and rear sections of the block.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen 'that my block comprises an outer portion or member I and an inner portion or member II. Theouter portion III is formed of relatively dense concrete while'the inner portion II is preferably formed of cinder concrete. The inner member II is reduced in thickness longitudinally as at I2 so that the upper and-lower 'ends of the member I I `are relatively thick as at I3. The same is true of the member I0 which is also reduced in thickness at its middle as at I2 and has the relatively thickened upper and lower portions I3.

Formed integrally with the member I0 is the facing portion I4' of the block which may be made of terra-cotta, imitation marble, ornamental concrete, slabs of different kinds of stone'or any material desirable to use, this facing portion I4 being integrally connected to the member I0 at the time that the member I0 is formed.

Connecting the members'IU and I I are the ties or reinforcing members I5. I do'not wish to be limited to the particular form, construction or material of these ties, but preferably theseties will beformed of copper bearing steel, galvanized to providey a .wall uniting means which will be both rust-proof and moisture-proof and will stand extremely high heat. I have shown four of these ties I 5 disposed between the front and rear portions of the block but I do not wish to be limited to this number. in horizontal planes and preferably consist each of a longitudinally corrugated strip, the extremities of the strip being preferably perforated as at I6. Preferably, the burr caused by perforating These ties are disposed v the strips will be left to project from the strips so that this burr will also act to anchor the strips within the bodies I0 and II of concrete. The tie members are Agiven rigidity by the longitudinal corrugations which run the entire length of these members. The opposite ends of these members extend into and are cast into the relatively thick portions I3 of the outer and inner members of the block.

As will be seen from Figure 2, the facing portion I4 of the block extends beyond the upper and lower faces of the ends I3 of the member I0. The relatively wide faces of the portions I3 of the block provide for the blocks being bonded to each other by a relatively wideand thick bonding of mortar, concrete or other material designated I'I.

By extending the facial portion I4 of the block beyond the portions I3, the facial portions of the block may be laid either directly against. each other or separated by a relatively narrow space as shown in Figure 2. This provides for a narrow joint I8 at the Surface of the wall whilea full amount of bonding material such as mortar will be used between the blocks back of these extensions of the facial portion. The pointing mortar I9 of the wall between the closely approximated edges of the facial slabs I4 may be of any color desired, as for instance, a color to match the facial slab I4. The facial slab portion I4 secures greater strength for the outside wall and thus provides reinforcing means not found in the ordinary concrete block. As before stated, the inside wall or member II of the block is made of a solid cinder block or made of suitable material similar to cinder block which readily per- -mits nails to be driven into any portion of it without damage. 'Ihus casings, baseboards, mouldings, etc., may be readily nailed to the inside face of the block and such cinder block forms an excellent surface over which to plaster, insuring no shrinking or cracking of the plaster, and providing a smooth and even surface therefor.

My block is so constructed that it is not necessary to strip and lath the inner surface before plastering in order to prevent dampness caused by frost penetrating the solid portions of the block. This is entirely overcome by the provision of an air space between the two sections of the block, which air space extends continuously from the top of the block to the bottom and from one end of the block to the other end.

Thus a wall formed of these blocksds in effect a double wall connected at intervals by ties, but in my case, these ties are integrally embedded in the outside and inside elements of the hollow wall and thus there is no possible danger of this inside and outside element separating or becoming untied or unbonded. In a 7wall constructed of the blocks as heretofore described, there is no conduction of heat or cold from one surface of the wall to the other because the dead air space is continuous throughout the entire wall.` These blocks have been tested in actual practice and it has been found that by corrugating the sheet metal ties I5, this so strengthens these ties that.

Blocks constructed in accordance with my invention save both labor and material in constructing a building and will provide' for a wide any dry-pressed block, and further the block is reinforced by the insertion of the lcorrugated g metallic strips.

A particular advantage of my block resides in the fact that while the upper and lower faces .of the front and rear` sections have considerable Width so as to secure a good bearing upon the block below and provide a good bearingfor the block above, the middle portion of each section being greatly reduced in thickness as at' I2. provides for the ready insertion of soil pipes, wiring, gas pipes, heating pipes and the like. The total thickness of the block composed of the two sections is very important.- Without the 'upper and lower thickened portions such as I use, with my block, two plain sections of a block would have to be too thick to secure suicient strength and suicient bearingsurfaces and would not permit of `suiiicient wide air space between them to receive a standard soil pipe. In my block, the two sections are spaced from each other, the middle portions of the two sections are reduced in thickness and the tie members I5 are likewise spaced from each other so that a full air space is provided from one end of the wall to the other and from the bottom of the Wall to the top and a full space is thus provided for the passage of pipes, electric wiring, etc.

It is to be noted that the thickened portions I3 of the block extend from end to end for the entire length of the block and have no broken places or interruptions which would require the ties AI5 to be disposed within certain very definite limits. My relatively wide tie members are embedded in the thickened portions of the block and may be placed anywhere from end to end of the block, as convenience dictates, without any changes in the shape of the sections or the forms in which they are made. These thickened portions I3 extending the entire length of the block provide wide mortar beds, reinforce thewalls of the block, and provide for a Wide range of adjustment of the tie members, if required. The wide corrugated metal ties used by me cause the sections to be held rigidly with relation to each other at both the top and bottomj of the block and these four relatively wide tie members hold the two sections from any possible displacement while at the same time the tie members are light andmay be cheaply' constructed and readily inserted in the mold. Inasmuch as the tie members are corrugated, they may be made of sheet material and readilyvstainped out andbecause 'of the corrugations, the sheet metal is sufficiently stiffened as against all bending strains or stresses.

The use of a cinder concrete Section for the4 section I2, that is the inner section, is of great limportance as it accomplishes several important objects. By its nature in connection with an unbroken air space between it and the outer section, the cinder block section makes the inner wall surface secure from frost and dampness and provides a at, smooth surface to which plaster will be directly applied without the use of strips and laths. The cinder block section makes it unnecessary to use wood blocks inserted in a wall to which to nailor otherwise secure inside finish material or appliances. Such a block is easily cut away or drilled through for openings permitting f the passage of conduits and pipes and provides a wall which with the unbroken air space is f practically sound-proof. At the same time, the

cinder section is sufficiently wide or thick at its upper and lower ends as to secure Ithoroughly good anchoring engagement with the ties. It will be noted that the facing I4 may be readily cast integral with the outer section il and is not merely applied to this outer section. Of course, it may be 'formed of the same concrete as the outer section itself or of a different character of concrete or like material having an ornamental character. Inasmuch as it is integral with the outer lsection of the wall, it cannot crack or break away due to the action of frost or due to the action of heat. At the same time, extending as it does beyond the edge faces of the outer section of the block, it provides for relatively narrow joints between the block sections.

I claimz- 1. A building block formed of two parallel sections spaced from each other throughout their entire extent and metallic ties embedded in the their entire extent, longitudinally corrugated sheet metal ties disposed between the ends of the sections and embedded therein and extending across the space between the sections, the upper land lower edges of the sections having relatively wide mortar receiving faces, the middle portions of the sections upon their confronting faces being longitudinally recessed from end to end for their entire length,.the front section having integrally connected thereto a slab of different material, the slab projecting beyond the side and end faces of the front section whereby when the blocks are placed together to form a Wall, the slabs may be disposed with their edges in close approximation while the side and end edges of the bodies of the front sections will be spaced from each other sumcient distance to receive the proper amount oi. bonding material.

3. A building block formed of an outer and an inner section of concrete spaced from each other throughout their entire extent, the 'middle portions of the sections upon their confronting faces being longitudinally recessed from end to end for their entire length to reduce the thickness of the sections at the middles, thereof, the upper and lower ends of the sections being relatively thick, and longitudinally corrugated integral metallic ties of sheet metal extending into the relatively thick portions of the two sections and initially embedded therein.

4. A building block formed of an outer and an inner section .of concrete, thel sections being spaced from each other throughout their entire extent, the middle portions of the sections upon their confronting faces being longitudinally recessed from end to end for the entire length of the section to reduce the thickness of the sections at the middle, the upper and lower ends of the sections being relatively thick to provide relatively thick bearing surfaces abutting against corresponding surfaces of adjacent blocks and upper and lower metallic ties each formed of an integral piece of sheet metal, the ties extending 20 into the relatively thick portions of the two sections and initially embedded therein, the ties being longitudinally corrugated'and formed at their opposite ends with perforations to provide means anchoring the ties in the concrete of the sections, the ties being disposed in planes parallel to theplanes of the upper and lower surfaces of the sections.

5. A tie for building blocks consisting of a longitudinally corrugated metallic sheet, the ends of the sheet' being formed with anchoring projections.

6. A building block having two opposed spaced sections of concrete, ties having their ends embedded in the opposite sections of the block and extending across the space between the sections, each tie being formed of a strip of metal corrugated from end t`o end and formed adjacent its ends with anchoring perforations having margins projecting beyond the plane of the tie.

7. A building block formed`of an outer and an inner section of concrete, the sections being spaced from each other along their entire extent, and ties having their ends embedded in the opposite sections of the block and extending across the space between the sections, each tie, being formed of a strip of metal corrugated from end to end and formed adjacent its ends with anchoring means, the ties being disposed with their corrugated faces parallel to the upper and lower ends of the sections and disposed adjacent opposite ends of the sections.

CHARLES L. SANFORD. 

